boilerfan87

The one who was at Washington from 04-14? If so, great hire. Congrats.

Shhhh... you can't say that word on here! lol I just can't get the Kentucky district system out of my brain. And they never could even out the districts with team numbers so there was still some fudging with the schedule. However, there were only 3-4 locked in games so there is still a ton of flexibility in scheduling.

Yes, I know what you are saying. If the even numbered conferences did this then the odd numbered conferences would be able to play in those off weeks against each other. There is no magic solution to the scheduling problem, unless we just go with all even numbered districts and drop conferences 😁

I just meant hypothetically, not specific to the HHC. If all conferences played their conference schedule at the later part of the year, then most people would be relatively on the same page to play out of conference games.

I agree, it does make it easier. The MSC was in a tough spot with only 1 opening because it forced everyone to have a different off week, making it very challenging to find opponents. Same for the HHC as of late. It'd be nice to shift the conference schedule to the later weeks of the year, like 4-9 being all conference games. I also agree, it is nice to change up who you are playing. It is neat to face a different team and have a different challenge.

I know you're asking Dante, but I'm definitely not a fan. It gives you no flexibility in your scheduling. It'd be nice to have 3 out of conference games to schedule as you like for purposes of scheduling to what your program needs. If you're trying to rebuild a program, schedule 3 winnable games. If you've built the program and want to take the next step, schedule a really good team and two others that are a toss up. Just an example.

Columbus North and Chatard could beat either one of those teams. Might Male be favored? Sure. But they would be pretty good games. For instance, Cal Preps has Chatard over Male in 2019 (latest data set). Plus, East also plays Whiteland who is coming off of a 9-2 season and is a solid 5a program. Jeffersonville is set to play Bell County (KY). Bell County is a smaller school but is a perennial state power. New Albany plays Bloomington North and South. They also play Gibson Southern, which has been a top notch 3a program in Indiana over the last decade. FC will play a tough schedule. Good for them. It doesn't make it the best or toughest.

Maconaquah head football job is listed on the IDOE under miscellaneous.

I'm not sure if shortage is the right word, but even 5-10 years ago, it was not easy to fill a staff with qualified individuals. This can be especially true in more rural areas. If prospective coaches aren't teachers, who actually has the luxury of a schedule that will allow them to work around practice and game times? What about the year round stuff? Anywhere I coached, much of the staff was not able to be there year round or chose not to be. Ideally, everyone is there all the time to reflect that all-in atmosphere. But that is often not realistic. At the end of the day, staffs may get filled, but it may be with individuals who can run a drill or maybe just be a body to monitor a group. Coaching is not easy. It is generally thankless and it is not something you do for money. There will always be people who want to be a coach. There are far fewer that are willing to do what it takes.

I would argue school boards are more impactful, particularly in smaller communities, or one-horse communities. Often times, admin's hands are tied because of policies or impacts they know can come from the board. A good school board that works well together and has a progressive vision can do wonders for any school district.

I did not realize the (little) MIC had dissolved. What led to that? I guess the other schools are just independent now?

Thanks for the clarification. I thought that was odd. Coach Parker did a nice job getting them going late last year and should feel good about the momentum for the program going forward.

An interesting note... John Harrell's now lists under coaching changes that Grant Zgunda is the new coach at Jeffersonville High School. He was the head coach at Delta from 2002-2015. I did not know that Coach Parker had even stepped down. I haven't seen that info anywhere else, but Harrell doesn't tend to post something that isn't accurate. If that is indeed the case, that is a heck of a coup. He has over 140 career victories.

Why is that? I can certainly see the point in football just because of what I discussed prior in this thread with the lack of flexibility in the schedule because of the number of teams. But it may also make for a difficult time filling the schedule being indepedent. I think in basketball and other sports it could be a great fit.

It is behind a paywall, but the Madison Courier ran an article suggesting it was the time for them to join the MSC with the departure of Clarksville. Geographically it does make sense. Enrollment wise it does as well. They'd be at the upper echelon of the enrollments for the conference, but still 100 or so students below Silver Creek. Thoughts?

Highland has 5 seasons since 1994 that are above .500. Koulianos did a nice job at Hanover Central and is working to build the program. Times change and demographics change and perhaps this is the case with Highland. A win to start the season, regardless of who it is, could provide a springboard for the rest of the year. Besides, Whiting is 3 years removed from a sectional title and 6 years removed from a state title appearance. They are a very solid 1a program. Once he gets the program on solid ground, it is logical to think they can schedule up again.

Not personally. Just from being in the business and coaching against him while he was at BNL.

It was February 1st.

The rule may have changed but several years ago, Indiana teams were not allowed to scrimmage an out of state opponent. I think it had something to do with ensuring that teams stuck to the two approved formats for the scrimmage. While I understand that, I do wish that rule would change as it could make it easier to find scrimmage opponents.

The district is pretty locked with no where to expand (though they are building several new, large apartments). The rumor mills like to churn about a consolidation, but the history of the place resists it. It is not unrealistic to think it could happen at some point, I just don't see it in the near future. I am pretty sure the board voted against them leaving the PLAC. The nice thing for them is the PLAC is small so they have plenty of opportunities to schedule as they please for half of their schedule. I think that was the issue for Clarksville, particularly in football. Not only were they the smallest school, but the size of the conference left them with no out of conference games, except with their rival, Providence. Providence's schedule is always changing. I am surprised they haven't worked out a game with you guys yet. I think it'd be a great annual matchup.

Since we are here in 2021 and we have some interesting news I thought I'd get this one going. Clarksville is officially leaving the MSC (link). They will still play some of the conference teams (Scottsburg, Charlestown, Brownstown) but will now play some PLAC members as well (West Washington, Crawford, Perry) in addition to their traditional rivalry with Providence (who now has more of an MSC flair to their schedule as they will play Charlestown, Corydon and North Harrison). Schedule changes will be abound, which will certainly makes things different and possibly more interesting. There does not appear to be much coaching turnover between the two leagues this year, as only West Washington will feature a new, but familiar name at HC. Springs Valley will also have a new HC, though they have not named one at this time. What should we expect from each league and what questions have to be answered? MSC - Brownstown will be their typical top notch program. Silver Creek looks to build on their best season in school history and defend their title, but must do so with some big losses from their senior class. How will Salem be after a very solid first year under Coach Thompson? Can Charlestown bounce back from an unusually challenging year? North Harrison continues to be a challenger for everyone. I am not sure how much they return. Corydon saw some great improvement. Will they continue? How do Scottsburg and Eastern look and do they return much? PLAC - Does West Washington continue their dominance under a new coach? Can Paoli challenge WW? Perry is always right there as well. Can Mitchell bounce back from a down year? Will a new coach at Valley bring some new energy? After trying to get out of the conference, can Crawford continue to build in year two under Coach Bell? They were able to add Switz County, Eastern and Clarksville to their schedule in addition to already having a game with Rock Creek. NOT MSC/PLAC but close - Will a new schedule for Clarksville provide some momentum going forward? Coach Boser has done a nice job improving things. Providence continued to improve throughout the year under a new coach last year after an 0-3 start. They too have a very new schedule so will that provide some continued momentum for the program? Best of luck to all programs and here is to hoping we can have a normal year with fans in the stands!

Good ol' Coach Wagner. I am pretty sure he went back to the state police force and left teaching. That was a few years back. I can't be for certain. He did a nice job as OC while there.

We know Male is a tough out, but Dupont Manual will be as well. They only played 5 games this last year and were 3-2, but they were 9-3 the year before. Like Male, they are a premier magnet school in JCPS. We also know that New Albany returns a lot off of a very competitive team. Really?? He was completely out of education this last year after the Paoli situation. Good for him. He is a great coach. He definitely has a tall task ahead there.

I'm not sure where Lowery is from originally, but prior to being the HC at LaPorte, he was HC at Paoli and was an assistant there for years before that. West Washington is about 25 minutes from Paoli, so it is a homecoming of sorts for him. Congrats to Coach Lowery.

I haven't read through this whole thread, but part of the thing that will skew enrollment numbers for some schools are the availability of online schools that are not affiliated with their districts. One example is K12, an online school provider. If students attend this school, they are not enrolled in their home school district. K12 must consult with the home school district in regards to special education accommodations, but those students are K12 students. Our district has lost a fair number of other students to other online schools, or even to home school. When they enroll in those schools, they are unenrolled in our district. I would imagine many districts have encountered this and will see an enrollment decrease as a result.